Simulated Black Hole / The End and...

"Bang!"

The bullet struck the Herrscher's protective field, and before she could react, Lin threw a grenade that exploded on the field.

Since Lin's previous attacks had not caused her any harm or even broken the field, the Ninth Herrscher ignored them, but she was wrong.

The Fourth Herrscher, the Sixth Herrscher, and the Eighth Herrscher all share a common characteristic: they possess rich "personalities" that allow them to think like humans, rather than deciding their next move solely through cold, rational judgment.

This is similar to the difference between programs and humans. They are more "cunning" than ordinary Herrscher, especially since they know Lin's style to a certain extent and will not underestimate him. This is also why it is more difficult for Lin to deal with them.

However, the Ninth Herrscher's mindset was clearly that of an ordinary Herrscher. She never imagined that Lin's attack, the grenade she threw, would directly neutralize her position.

"Boom!"

The expressionless Ninth Herrscher swayed in the air, half of her body charred black. Although it didn't cause her much damage, it did draw her attention to Lin.

After flying hundreds of meters backward, Hen began to fall straight down. He seized the opportunity when the Herrscher was distracted and used the impact of his own fall to slash at the Ninth Herrscher's head!

"Buzz!"

The Ninth Herrscher didn't even turn her head, and her sword stopped in mid-air, unable to advance any further.

A pair of brown wings began to grow from her white back, and a crown-like ornament appeared on her head.

Is this... a case of metamorphosis?

With a flap of her wings, Hen plummeted straight to the ground as if punched, followed by a dozen or so gravity balls that rained down on the ground.

"Boom!"

The earth shattered, and the shockwave traveled thousands of meters away. Spider-like cracks appeared on the ground within a radius of a thousand meters. Then, the gravity ball that had been driven into the ground detonated underground, and the flames that shot into the sky were hundreds of meters high!

This destructive power is already approaching that of the Seventh Herrscher!

Lin didn't think much about it, and his mind and body didn't allow him to think much either. The Black Abyss White Flower emitted a faint glow, and his Prismatic Eyes became even more intense. A layer of force shielded him from the impact, and then he collided with the Ninth Herrscher!

The Black Abyss White Flower, which had previously exhausted its power, was now recharged, and this time, it no longer possessed the regeneration and annihilation characteristics of the Ninth Herrscher.

The tip of Black Abyss's spear collided head-on with the gravity sphere, but the expected explosion did not occur. The gravity sphere, which contained a large amount of Honkai Energy, disappeared as if it had lost its kinetic energy and additional power.

The Soul Steel Chain Blade was wrapped around Lin's waist. He didn't use it, but it started to move automatically under Lin's influence. The chains rattled and collided, and it turned into a golden stream of light, blocking all the incoming gravity balls and gravity rays!

But that wasn't enough! The space around the Ninth Herrscher was distorted. The connection between gravity and spacetime was already very close. At this moment, Lin could only withstand the relentless attacks of the waves, but could not advance any further.

Moreover, after completing her ascension, the Ninth Herrscher did not remain in place. Instead, she flew away to create distance between herself and Lin while launching an attack.

Realizing she couldn't directly apply gravity to Lin, she intensified her attacks by materializing gravity. A barrage of gravity balls slammed into the ground around Lin, as if washing the ground. The impact alone instantly collapsed the buildings in the entire city!

Moreover, the impact did not stop in Atra. According to the detectors of the Fire Moth, the aftershocks of the battle had reached half of the Mu Continent. The earthquake intensity at the center point had reached level seven, and the released energy was increasing exponentially!

He shattered the rubble on his body and looked at the world that seemed to have undergone a cataclysmic change. The ground was cracking and the sky was also torn open. If this continued, even if they defeated the Ninth Herrscher, the loss to humanity would be unimaginable!

Is there a chance?

Hen gasped for breath, but all he exhaled were fragments of internal organs and the stench of filthy blood. He stood unsteadily, watching the rampaging Ninth Herrscher and the struggling Lin.

Hen was unusually calm at this moment. He took out the necklace on his chest again, which contained photos of his wife and daughter.

But he didn't open it to look.

Instead, it was crushed and thrown on the ground, where it was completely pulverized by the shockwave.

He is now a warrior.

He didn't want to see their smiles. He was afraid that he would continue to see himself as a father and a husband, even though he did have those identities, but things were different now.

What's needed now are soldiers.

Human beings need it.

Lin also needs it.

Hen recalled the words he had wanted to say but couldn't bring himself to say when he first met Lin.

"You're still young..."

Chapter 243 A Simulated Black Hole

"MSA-079? That helmeted monster that's been all over the news?"

Hen put down the Mission Report he had written the day before. He was used to checking what he had written the night before again the next morning, since his mind was clearer in the morning. Then he picked up his utensils and started eating breakfast, talking with his pregnant wife next to him.

"Helmet...weirdo?" Bianca slowly wiped the table. Hearing Hen's description, she covered her mouth and laughed. "That boy is just a little taciturn, he shouldn't be considered a weirdo, right?"

Hen took a bite of breakfast, chewed it down, and asked, "Have you seen him?"

"Yes, I've seen him. He was watching us when we were dancing at the ball after the Third Honkai War Impact."

Was Lin actually there at that time? Hen didn't notice that there was such a person in a small corner of the scene.

"When I was in the doctor's lab, we were in charge of his physical examinations, so I was one of the people who had the most contact with him. He does have some quirks, just like many people say." Bianca picked up her fork and pointed at the marks, smiling and squinting her eyes. "But it's normal for young people to have their own quirks, isn't it? Just like the doctor."

"... But Mobius is older than you."

"Oh? Really? I can't tell. Well, anyway, I think that boy isn't as mysterious as people say. He's just... um... has a lot on his mind."

"So what?"

Hen found it a bit strange. Although Bianca usually liked to chat, she rarely talked about someone behind their back.

"So I think you should pay more attention to him. That boy is quite... pathetic." Bianca revealed a complex and helpless expression that she didn't know how to express. "Even if he's going in the wrong direction, someone like him will be willing to give his life once he's made up his mind. He's just like you. He'll definitely lose a lot in the future."

"You don't need to worry about it."

After finishing his breakfast, Hen picked up his equipment and report.

"He's still young. Even if he dies, it'll be old people like us who die before him." He said, then gave Bianca a rare, warm smile. "Besides, even if I was him before, I have you now, don't I?"

Lin used the Black Abyss White Flower as a support, planting it into the ground to barely stabilize himself amidst the shaking and cracking earth.

The battle is spiraling out of control. All objects are defying the laws of physics. The sky is collapsing towards the ground, and the ground is falling towards the sky. Rocks and debris are suspended in the air, like disordered celestial bodies in space.

No matter how hard he tried to chase the brown shadow, he couldn't get any closer.

The power stored in the Black Abyss White Flower was only enough for one more use, yet he didn't even have a chance to encounter the Ninth Herrscher.

"Bang!"

The black torrent relentlessly devoured his force field shield, the impact and vibrations making it difficult for him to move. The ever-present threat of the collapsing ground also made him constantly watch his step.

What should I do?

Lin used his remaining consciousness to think of a way to break the deadlock. Even if he died, he had to defeat the Ninth Herrscher before he died, otherwise humanity would likely be left with two Herrscher.

"Clatter."

A faint, almost insignificant sound in the midst of a thunderous battle was, to Lin, no less than a thunderclap.

A figure was swept upstream by the torrent, stepping on the floating pebbles. The gravity of the torrent washed over him, his armor and skin curled inward, and his whole body shrank and crumpled like a piece of paper in a hand.

Lin cried out, almost before he could scream out from the depths of his heart, "Hen!"

The man stopped in mid-air and glanced back at Lin.

Without a smile or words, he simply believed without reservation that Lin would understand the meaning in his eyes.

"Don't go." Lin's lips moved uncontrollably, uttering words he didn't want to say. "I'll handle it..."

What he didn't want to say...

Wrong.

Who is "he"? Is he Lin now, or is he the consciousness of the Herrscher?

Regardless of who he is, the words he utters under the control of his mind must reflect Lin's thoughts.

"I've always handled this before, so this time it's up to me too... Bianca and Griseo are still waiting for you to come back..."

However, Hen did not answer him. Like every reliable elder, Hen always walked ahead and always left quietly.

The departing figure was reflected in Lin's eyes, and his lips twitched.

"Don't leave me..."

Hen exerted all his strength to mobilize the Honkai Energy resist the gravitational torrent that was constantly destroying the surrounding gravity and spatial structure. His skin was bloody and wrinkled, revealing the muscle texture underneath, but he seemed to feel no pain as he moved towards the direction of the Ninth Herrscher.

He had to create an opportunity for Lin, whose Black Abyss possessed the power to kill Herrscher in one strike and decide the outcome of the battle.

There were no extra sentiments, he simply had to do it because only he could do it.

The most beautiful and shining aspect of humanity will always have a place in accomplishing what it is capable of.

That's all.

"Sixty-seven meters short."

Hen visually estimated the distance between herself and the Ninth Herrscher. The opponent was no longer the un- Herrscher of Ascension could only target one target and use a single ability. Now she could control gravity over a very large area and could also apply different gravity effects to individual individuals while controlling the gravity within the area.

Moreover, the way she uses gravity has also changed.

Hen gripped the rubble beside him, a bloody gash appearing on his broken palm from the sharp edges. He looked up at the "sphere" in the air that seemed to swallow everything.

The Ninth Herrscher closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, and the strange changes in the world made her look like a saintly woman in devout prayer. Above her head, the black hole that swallowed up light was continuously sucking everything around her into it.

Black hole?

Impossible. Black holes are indeed formed under the influence of gravity, but even Herrscher could not create a truly persistent black hole.

Therefore, this is a pseudo-black hole.

Even as a pseudo-black hole, it has already exhibited terrifying gravity, causing abnormal distortions in the surrounding space. The laws of physics are also tending to Honkai under the influence of the pseudo-black hole. If the pseudo-black hole continues to expand, the consequences will be unimaginable.

Hen didn't know if his distance estimate was correct. In fact, the length he predicted with his naked eye was probably inaccurate, and he could only move based on his instincts.

But--

"Lin, the rest is up to you."

He strode forward, like a beam of light breaking free from a black hole, toward the Ninth Herrscher with his eyes closed—

Chapter 244 The End and...

The Ninth Honkai War has ended.

Just as the outbreak of this Honkai was absurd and incomprehensible due to the unprecedented explosive internal strife and the dictatorial nature of the High Council when the Fire Moth was launched, the "end" of this Honkai, like its beginning, is moving in a direction that no one could have predicted.

In this Honkai, Atra, the epicenter of the outbreak and the location of the Stargate, was completely destroyed. Nearly three million Atra residents perished in the riots of the Firemoths and the Ninth Honkai War.

This should have been a painful sacrifice, but compared to the "consequences" of the Ninth Honkai War, it seemed so insignificant.

When the Ninth Herrscher was being attacked, she used all her powers to create a pseudo-black hole. After her death, she completely lost control. The pseudo-black hole, which had exhausted all the powers of a Herrscher, not only completely swallowed Atra, including the Stargate, but also sank the entire Mu Continent in that black hole, which was like a punishment from the heavens.

The sinking of the Mu Continent resulted in far greater losses than Australia during the Seventh Honkai Eruption. Due to the speed of the sinking, most ordinary people were unable to evacuate Mu Continent. Nearly one-sixth of the human population perished in this Honkai, social structures collapsed, triggering large-scale global riots. Furthermore, the Fire Moth, Honkai, and Herrscher truly entered the world's spotlight, and doomsday prophecies, which should have been eliminated, returned to the public eye.

The High Council of the Firemoth, having learned a painful lesson from the casualties, "suddenly realized the error of their ways," ended the second phase of the Flame-Chaser program and the KY Plan, and actively organized rescue and disaster relief efforts on the Mu Continent. All the mechs originally used to suppress humanity were modified and put into the normal operation of the organization.

The losses suffered by the Firemoth were extraordinary. Kevin executed the vast majority of the Flame-Chaser, all products of KY Plan, while the remaining Flame-Chaser who chose to surrender were imprisoned in the Deepest Place. One-fifth of the ordinary soldiers were also killed or wounded in this civil war, but the Squad Thirteen, at the center of the storm, only lost three men. According to the testimony of soldier Pardofelis, Captain Elysia managed to control the situation in time and effectively prevented the mechs from attacking the city and the branch.

When Dr. Vill-V returned to the Firemoth headquarters, she found the list of survivors in a daze. After reading through all the numbers and names one by one, she locked herself in the Spiral Workshop. For nearly half a year, no one saw her again except for May, who voluntarily entered the Spiral Workshop.

The following is a list of those who perished in the fire-chasing moths; out of respect for the deceased, their numbers have not been listed:

Cariosa, Erwin, Monias, Skye, Delta, Fitch, Hen, Luther, Naden, Einstein, Lin...

In the crimson sea, everything had drifted away from Lin.

This is a "pre-established matter".

Just like Ragnarok, from the moment the prophecy appeared, the course of the world was no longer under human control.

Painful yet precious memories, the humanity bestowed upon him by humankind, the consciousness preserved as "Lin"—all of these will vanish in the Red Sea.

In his dying moments, Lin thought of the Ninth Herrscher, who was shrinking and gradually disappearing into fragments beneath the black hole that devoured the heavens and earth. He then gently nodded to Lin with his disintegrating face.

Lin killed Hen.

He and the Ninth Herrscher were enveloped by the black Black Mist of the Abyss.

Use these hands.

Using Lin's own will—

Under the gaze of those inhuman, Prismatic Eyes, Lin silently closed his eyes.